


Flowering

by phantom_aria



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Akechi Goro Needs a Hug, Akechi Goro is Bad at Feelings, Also third sem Akechi Goro, Angst, But Ren has it hehehe, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Like really really bad that you'd want to fckin hit him for it, Lots of Angst, M/M, Mild Comedy?????, You gotta go through pain first before the fluff tho, he really fckin do man please, its worth it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantom_aria/pseuds/phantom_aria
Summary: "It's all just supposed to be from a dumb romance book.""It's not so easy to bear one's heart."Early Spring in Japan made itself known to the country by bestowing a disease. A beautiful, sentimental, yet potentially deadly disease. That was theHanahaki Diseaseor "The Flower Disease."This story is written through the eyes of Akechi Goro who didn't expect to solve the hardest case he desperately buried within himself: his feelings.But this time, no more what ifs.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Flowering

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello its hardly been a while since i've written a story and even more surprising that i've written a full blown story with chapters for a specific ship. i tend to lean towards one-shots but man, these two dumbasses just hurt me way too much. and this is my first time tackling such an au so bear with me!
> 
> not to mention, i am also working with a friend aka['imclimbingthewall'](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imclimbingthewall/profile) who is also my editor and beta to deliver the story the best we could! we hope you enjoy!
> 
> leave some comments for us too as the editor and i would really appreciate it!

It’s been at least five years since the incident. Now, there are no more Phantom Thieves, the metaverse has faded, everyone’s back on their own feet. The world is now once again in the hands of the adults we all hated.

Yet, we had no choice but to trust them. 

I wonder why I’m still here. I should’ve died back at Shido’s palace. But, here I am standing on my own two feet, heart beating against my chest.

A soft sigh escapes. Even I can’t atone for what I’ve done, huh? Well, there’s not much use in wondering with what I don’t know.

* * *

I’m in my third year in law school. As always with perfect grades but now, I quit with that pleasant personality. I’d much rather everyone just buzz off and don’t approach me. Ever.

Well, except with regards to anything academia related, then they may. Anything other than that is a big fat no. Not even at the sight of humans coughing up flower petals.

Yes. Flower petals. Straight from their mouths. 

Apparently, there’s been a new disease around recently that’s taking the world by storm. Dubbed the “Flower Disease.” Wherein a human would cough up petals from their mouths from yet unfound reasons. It, they say, isn’t a viral infection but they also say anyone can be a victim. It affects both the young and old, and any gender thus, proving it difficult for scientists to track down what exactly is the cause.

I’d dismiss it as bullshit but, there have been people in my college who have been victims of it, too. And as with everything there are some assholes out there who find the whole thing entertaining.

I roll my eyes.

I check the time. Huh, is it that late? Well, I have no more classes, so I might as well head home for the day or read up somewhere on my way back.

Before I knew it, my legs had taken me to a very familiar shop.

Leblanc.

I found myself in front of this goddamn coffee shop. Again. And yet I find myself entering the premises despite the cold looks I know I’d get from its owner, Sakura Sojiro. 

Speaking of, it’s the man himself behind the counter.

“Welco—” He looks up and I know the moment he sees me. “Oh. It’s you.”

Not replying, I turn towards the wooden counter moving to grab the closest seat, throwing my briefcase on top and sitting down. I remove my gloves and set them down. With a stop tap, as cloth meets the hardwood, I speak.

“The usual, please.” 

No response. Perfect.

My briefcase makes a soft click as I open it and take out some papers and browse through them. Minutes later, from the corner of my eye I can see my order placed gently in front of me. I nod in thanks, putting the papers down, I reach for the cup and take a long sip feeling the warmth spread through my body.

I am alive. 

* * *

  
_Let’s make a deal! Defeat Shido and make him atone for his crimes for me!_  
  
_I’ll hold on to your glove._

_Even after all that we’ve gone through, you still say that? You’re really…_

I jerk up from my bed. It takes a while for me to adjust. Wiping my face on my hands, I breathe.

God, it’s that dream again. My supposed final words with him. I comb my hair with my fingers and sigh. I look up at the ceiling, then towards the balcony glass doors, showing the view of the city basked in warm sunlight. 

“I wonder how he is…” 

Amamiya Ren.

My enemy. Well, my former enemy. Or, did he ever treat me as such? I never got to hear much from his friends or from him regarding his whereabouts. It’s a given, I suppose. I did shoot him. I did betray them. I guess it’d be natural that I’d get nothing. 

“No use worrying about someone you wouldn’t meet again.”

I, at least, hope he’s doing well.

Throwing myself off of the bed, I stretch and get ready for school. Everything is as usual. I put on a white polo, black chinos, and black shoes over a beige trench coat. As usual I reach over towards my gloves, tucking my hands into them. I pick my watch from the desk and snap it on my wrist. And like usual, I grab my briefcase and keys from its place and I leave.

Stepping out of the building, I watch as pink petals drift along with the wind.

Ah, so it’s spring.

I stick my hand out and as if on cue, a petal falls into my palm. I huff, clenching my hand tightly, trapping the petal in my hand before casually letting it fall. No time for this. 

Reaching the entrance, I see quite a number of people gathered around the gates. Weaving my way through the crowd proved difficult. Finally with a huff, I get past the crowded entrance and walk over to the Law Building. Upon entering I find myself staring at another crowd of people. I had thought that graduating from high school meant I wouldn’t have to deal with hallways full of people, but apparently not.

“What.” I cursed lightly, “The fuck is happening?”

Glancing over at my watch, and seeing that I am literally minutes away from being late for my class, I ran. Yes, I probably should’ve found another way and yes, I did bump into some people but, geez. You’d think collegiate level students would know that the hallway isn’t a place for people to chit-chat. 

I look down again, and curse. My class is on the third floor. The elevator lines are clearly way too long and I obviously can’t afford to wait. That’s how I ended up running flights of stairs in exchange for losing my ability to breathe for a solid minute. 

With short gasps, I reach my classroom. And pausing to catch my breath, I found that there weren't too many people inside.

Finally. A safe place. 

Looking around, I can’t help but notice that the head table of the room was empty. Seems like I got here before the professor.

With an almost careless shrug, I proceed to my usual seat at the back of the classroom and place down my things. Sitting down, I reach into my coat pocket and pull out my phone. Just to pass the time, I open up the news and just browse through it. My thumb swipes at the screen while I read through the articles, checking the headlines, the sound of people talking and footsteps growing louder with every new person that enters the room.

It really seems like spring is coming in. The sakura are in full bloom and festivals are being prepared.

And there are more reports of the so-called “Flower Disease.” Ugh. The shit may have been more worrying than I thought.

I sigh and cast my phone aside. My gaze turns towards the front of the room, but the teacher’s table remained bare. I look back down at my watch, the second hand ticking away.

Weird. The professor should’ve been here by now. Are they late? Seriously? 

The sound of the door opening makes me look up. So they were here now, at least they didn’t get stuck.

A pause. Someone was trailing after the professor.

_Oh my God. Is it really…_

That familiar unkempt looking raven hair, those pairs of glasses, that slouching posture as if he’s indifferent to everything. 

"Today, we have a transfer student joining our class today.” The professor gestured to the male beside them. “Please, introduce yourself.”

The male gave a minuscule nod before I could finally confirm…

“Amamiya Ren. Nice to meet you.”

It’s him. It’s really him. That… That _dumbass!_

“Pick a seat, Amamiya. We’ll start classes shortly.”   
  
“Alright.”

What? Oh shit. Fuck. For fucks sake. _Here?_ Of all places?

I watch as he heads up the room, eyes flicking behind his glasses for a place to sit. With a jerk of my head, I quickly check, thanking god that the seat to my left is occupied, thanking god that my seat was at the edge of the room, closest to the window.

Ah, thank goodness, he wouldn’t be able to—

Wait, fuck. No one’s in the front.

The seat in front of me is free!

My head jerks back towards Ren, ok so he hasn’t spotted it yet. I quickly reach down to grab my things to throw it on the seat. But before I could even get a firm grasp around the briefcase, I could already see Ren coming this way.

Shit. Shit. Shit! Okay, act normal. Jesus, Goro! Why in hell are you acting like this?! 

I peek up again and— Holy fuck he’s right in front of me.

“Hello. Is anyone seated here?” 

_Fuck._

Okay, change of plans, I lean down as though to grab some things from my briefcase. He’s gonna recognize me.

“No.” He’s gonna recognize me. He’s gonna know it’s me, he’s— 

“Would you mind if I sit here then?”

Of course, I fucking do! But, I _obviously_ can’t say that. 

“Uh,” I am not going to stutter. “N-Not at all.”

Goddammit.

Ren nods, puts his things down, and places his stuff down on his side. From the corner of my eyes, I could see people leaning in their seats trying to get a good look at him. Huh, seems like they’re drawn to his mysterious air already.

Thankfully, he hasn’t noticed that it’s me. But before anything else could happen, a loud smack comes from the front of the room. It’s the teacher. And with that classes started. With that snap back to reality, I set out my notebook and focus.

* * *

In no time at all, class ends and we all begin to collect our things to head to our next class. I quickly tidy my things and start to head out of the classroom and straight to the cafeteria. I put my things down on an empty table and head toward the stalls to order a cup of coffee and some bread.

Coming back with my meal, I sit down opening my briefcase. Taking a book out of the case, I turn to the page where I last stopped and continue reading. Reading is one of my hobbies, after all. It also makes me feel like I’m transported into another dimension. I forget my surroundings. My eyes continue to scan through the plethora of words in a single page, humming as I flip through the next.

Feeling I’ve progressed enough with the book, I finally put it down.

“Hey, Akechi.”

I instinctively grabbed the book tighter and whipped it over to the intruder, who had a very familiar face.

Managing to grab my wrist, Ren stopped me before my book could make contact.

“Man,” He says with a faint smile, “ I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re okay.”

“Ugh.”

Pinching my nose at his… familiarity, I swing my arm, freeing it from his grasp and let out a long sigh.

Great.

I look back up to take a good look at him, and scowl at his apparent grin.

His grin grows wider, “Did you think I wouldn’t notice you the moment I stepped in class?”

“Then why did you pretend you didn’t?” I ask, scowl still firmly on my face.

“Well, it looked like you pretended first so I played along.”

“You fucking piece of—“

**Author's Note:**

> shameless plug but if you want, you can follow me on twitter [ here](https://twitter.com/_meguminsu) and please cry over akeshu or persona in general with me i need more people to cry with about these two please i am desperate!!! :(((( 
> 
> oh and you get to be informed first when a new chapter is up too!! i hope we can be friends!!!!


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